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Enlarge ImageRequest to buy this photoKYLE ROBERTSON | DispatchThe Columbus Crew’s Frankie Hejduk shows off the MLS Cup after his team’s 3-1 win over the New York Red Bulls in Carson, Calif. At left is teammate Gino Padula.

After more than a decade of trying, the Columbus Crew, a charter member of Major League Soccer,
won the MLS Cup on Nov. 23, 2008.

Playing before a sellout crowd of 27,000 in Carson, Calif., the Crew beat the New York Red Bulls
3-1. Alejandro Moreno, Chad Marshall and Frankie Hejduk, all assisted by Guillermo Barros
Schelotto, scored the goals. Schelotto, who won the league and the Cup MVP awards that year, “
put on a show of breathtaking skill in the most pressure-packed event soccer has to offer in our
country,”
The Dispatch reported.

“Schelotto’s third setup put away the Red Bulls, crowned the Crew and stamped the game.
Schelotto was in traffic near the top of the box when he took a pass and chipped the ball over the
glut in front of him. It was not a shot — no way he could’ve gotten a shot through the mass of
humanity — it was a helium-inspired pass, to a player no one saw coming.

“Only Schelotto anticipated Frankie Hejduk’s sudden dart from the right wing, and even Hejduk
admitted he didn’t expect Schelotto to see him, much less set a perfect service. But there it was.
Hejduk, gunning in at

100 mph, suddenly found the ball floating down on his head, and his only play was to beat the
goaltender, which he did.

“ ‘He’s a magic man,’ Hejduk said. ‘I have no idea how he saw me running through there. I was
just making another stupid run. Only this time, I scored.’ ”

Late the next day, more than 100 fans, most wearing the Crew’s black and gold colors, cheered as
the team arrived at Port Columbus, with team members holding the cup aloft.

“This is absolutely insane,” Hejduk said. “It’s like we are one big, happy family. The fans are
awesome.”